Substance in SUGAR that wipes out superbugs dubbed 'most promising antibiotic ... trends now
A toxin found in sugar that wipes out superbugs has been dubbed the 'most exciting antibiotic candidate' in decades.
Albicidin is a toxin produced by the plant pathogen that causes the devastating leaf scald disease in sugar cane.
Researchers found it was effective against six antibiotic-resistant bacteria in a new laboratory study.
Scientists hope it will help fight against antibiotic-resistant superbugs. The bugs are estimated to contribute to around seven million deaths a year and experts have warned they should be taken as seriously as global warming.
The antibiotic - called albicidin - is made by the plant pathogen which causes the devastating leaf scald disease in sugar cane, bacterial disease which can ruin crops
Dr Dmitry Ghilarov, head of the research group examining albicidin at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, UK, said: 'We believe this is one of the most exciting new antibiotic candidates in many years.
'It has extremely high effectiveness in small concentrations and is highly potent against pathogenic bacteria - even those resistant to the widely used antibiotics.'
Albicidin is used by the pathogen Xanthomonas albilineans to enable the spread of the disease throughout the plant.
The disease, called leaf scald disease in sugar cane, withers the leaves and renders crops unusable.
The development of albicidin has been slow because scientists could not work out exactly how it engaged with its target - the bacterial enzyme DNA gyrase.
Gyrase binds to DNA and twists it into a coil called supercoiling, which is crucial for cells to operate.
But gyrase has a moment of weakness as it needs to briefly break the DNA in the process.
The bacteria is usually quick to join the two pieces of bacteria back together, but albicidin prevents it, leading to
